Counterfeit parts are a big problem in the trucking industry and unfortunately, our judicial system works in strange ways. Not just for the company victimized, but also the company that buys the parts. Poor quality can lead to breakdowns, damaged engines, and ultimately, lost money. Not to mention the innocent lives that are put at risk by parts that may break without warning. It’s a problem that no one seems to be able to keep up with for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the ability of counterfeiters to produce realistic-looking duplicates.

One of the other reasons is the risk-reward factor. The penalties for counterfeiting are, in a word, atrocious.

Case-in-point: Last week, Joseph Ungar, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to a series of charges, including grand larceny, tax evasion and scheming to defraud while his company, Abec Industries, pleaded guilty to trademark counterfeiting and identity theft. Great you say. Not so fast.

Ungar, who authorities say used various names, including those of dead people, put people’s lives at risk. Abec Industries distributed ball bearings, gears and power transmission products. The fraud pertains to counterfeit ball bearings sold to the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in New York for use on buses and subways.

To perpetuate the fraud, Ungar used elaborate schemes, prosecutors said, and Abec Industries operated under various names, including Omega Engineering and Bearing Inc. and Rockwood Pulley Manufacturing. The city was also after him for evading personal taxes from 2003 through 2007 and not paying NYC corporate taxes on Abec’s income.

While the New York Times story didn’t specify his actual profit from the scam, Ungar likely made thousands in the years between 2003 and 2008 when the counterfeit parts were supplied to the city. His punishment for this illegal behavior – the very stiff penalty of five years probation, a lifetime ban on doing business with the MTA and a $330,000 fine to cover restitution. Abec Industries has to pay a $5,000 fine and go out of business, according to the prosecutor.

This is great. A scam artist makes a profit and at the very least costs the city money to replace defective parts, and puts thousands of lives in danger over the years should those counterfeit parts have broken and caused a deadly accident, and what does he get: In essence, a $330,000 penalty. Big deal.

“Simply put, the message is: You will be punished, pay us back, and never do business with us again,” the MTA’s inspector general, Barry L. Kluger, told the New York Times.

Say what? Does Mr. Kluger really believe this is an appropriate punishment? Ungar probably already has the plans in motion to set up another fraud. Counterfeiters always do.

As long as the penalties for counterfeiting remain soft, it will remain an issue. After all, if you could make thousands, even millions of dollars selling counterfeit parts with only the risk of a fine, would it be worth it? Many believe it is.

As some of you may know, I was really interested in watching the new season of Ice Road Truckers. A few episodes in, I have not been disappointed. But, I have also yet to have the desire to join Jack, Hugh, Alex, George, Tim, Lisa, and whole gang at Carlile Transportation. I have a fear of dying, especially a cold, dark death.

Now, though, I’ve learned I don’t have to die and can still enjoy the excitement of driving some of the world’s most treacherous routes – ice-covered roads through the mountains of Alaska.

Anyone with an iPhone (I guess I’ll still have to wait) can download the Ice Road Truckers app. There is a free “lite” version, according to Mobiletor.com, and a $3.99 version will be released on June 28. In the paid game, you can drive the ice roads in your big rig, trying to beat a time to deliver your load – without dying, of course.

“Ice Road Truckers has developed a very loyal fan-base worldwide, and viewers are keen to engage with the series in any way they can. This Ice Road Truckers game app is the perfect way for fans to interact with the program. It’s a great promotional tool for the series and another opportunity for us to attract new viewers,” said Kate Winn, vp-home entertainment for A&E Television Networks.

Shop the iTunes store for the app. So run out and get your own ice road truck now. As long as you have an iPhone. As for me, I guess my dream will have to wait for another day.

It’s now been more than a week since Federal Express launched an advertising campaign against UPS, calling language in the FAA reauthorization bill a “bailout” for Big Brown. The company even started a web site, brownbailout.com, which has received hundreds of comments, and no doubt, thousands of hits, to set the record straight on the issue – at least according to FedEx’s interpretation.

In essence, the bill would reclassify FedEx Express under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) instead of its current classification under the Railway Labor Act (RLA). The big difference is that under the NLRA, unions can be set up in individual facilities as opposed to system-wide unionization which is required under the RLA.

UPS is under the NLRA and is heavily unionized by the Teamsters, who, as one can imagine, are not happy they have been unable to unionize FedEx Express. This change, according to some, would make it easier for that to happen.

FedEx head Fred Smith, of course, is opposed to this. Unions raise costs, can disrupt productivity through use of strikes in cases of labor disagreements, and keep management on edge. Smith doesn’t want that.

Now I have opinions on unions, with no disrespect intended to any union out there. In many cases, unions have been positive for the American worker. There was a time when unions were the only way for workers to receive fair wages, safe working environments and job security. I’ve also seen times when unions’ unwillingness to work with companies that legitimately needed the help spelled doom, costing thousands of jobs – the very jobs they were trying to protect.

I don’t know the exact situation with FedEx, but looking from the outside, it seems that if the company is so concerned with the possibility of unionization, then maybe the employees are not being treated fairly. While this is easy to say from where I sit, if the employees are truly happy with their working conditions, pay, benefits, et al, then a union vote would be a simple “No.” Any other vote would indicate unhappiness of some level.

The other issue is the use of the term “bailout.” This is in no way a bailout of UPS as we’ve become accustomed to. Banks have been given bailouts. The automakers have been given bailouts. UPS, not so much. As far as I know, the government will not be giving UPS any money in this deal. For FedEx to use the term bailout is questionable judgment, at best. I wonder how many people will rebel against FedEx for what they may deem a mistruth.

In the end, if FedEx spent a little of the money it’s spending on this ad campaign on the employees, it would have nothing to worry about.

So, FedEx Express is spending millions of dollars to prevent what it calls the “Big Brown Bailout” by Congress. FedEx is claiming that legislation currently in Congress includes a “230-word legislative bailout deep inside the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009.”

What’s got FedEx so up in arms? According to the Wall Street Journal, the bill would place FedEx under the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act rather than the Railway Labor Act. The change, according to the article, would make it easier for FedEx drivers to unionize. UPS, which supports the bill, is heavily unionized already.

FedEx, in addition to creating a multi-million dollar campaign to stop the bill, created a web site, www.brownbailout.com, to defeat the bill. According to the web site, “UPS’ bailout would shoehorn FedEx Express – an airline created in 1971 focused on next-day delivery of essential goods and documents around the world – into the same operating rules as a 100-year-old trucking company. FedEx Express and other airlines operate just fine under airline regulations, but UPS doesn’t like competition. Keep in mind, UPS chose to form as a separate trucking company for its pickup and delivery operations.”

The real issue, it would seem, is about organized labor. FedEx is afraid of labor joining the party and raising costs. “In 1997 UPS experienced a system-wide strike that crippled business and commerce across America. Now it wants Congress to expose FedEx Express to that risk,” said Maury Lane, FedEx Express spokesperson in a press release. “America relies too much on the reliability and dependability of the FedEx Express overnight-delivery network, and we can’t allow this bailout to pass only because UPS wants to harm its main competitor.”

FedEx’s argument is that UPS is a delivery company while FedEx is an airline. In fact, according to the web site, “UPS ships 85 percent of its parcels on the ground. FedEx Express is an airline, flying 85 percent of its packages in the air.”

I guess those white delivery vans with the words FedEx on the side are just my imagination. Next time I’m waiting for a package, I’ll just look to the sky as FedEx drops my delivery from above. I sure hope it isn’t breakable because if it is, I’ll have to call UPS.

Without some help soon, trucking buffs may lose a piece of history. The local CBS affiliate, WFSB, in Hartford, CT, has a story about the Golden Age of Trucking Museum.

The museum has been open for seven years, but each year has lost money. The non-profit, dedicated to preserving the history of trucks, needs approximately $100,000 to keep running.

The museum was conceived by Richard Guerrera of Middlebury, CT, a 35-year trucking veteran. Guerrera, after purchasing land in 1998 to complete his vision, succumbed to cancer in 1999before the museum ever opened. His wife, Frances, continued his dream, taking his 18 restored trucks and opened the museum in September 2002. The museum now includes those antiques plus a revolving collection of vehicles on loan. According to its web site, “You will find an extensive display of antique trucks in the showroom ranging from the early 1900’s until 1974. Mack, GMC, Diamond T, Autocar, White, International, Pierce Arrow, Republic, Jeep, Dodge, Brockway and others are all represented in the display.” Even police cars and carriages are on display.

Now, it’s time for the trucking industry to help keep one man’s dream alive. If you’d like to donate to keep a part of trucking history alive, visit http://goldenagetruckmuseum.com/fund_raiser.shtml.